Ben Shelton successfully defended his ***** le at the Canadian Open on Thursday, defeating fellow American Brandon Nakashima, 6-3, 7-6(4), in Montreal. It's Shelton's second ATP 1000 tournament win.
He became the seventh man in the Open era to go back-to-back in the event. Rafael Nadal was the last to win in both Toronto and Montreal — the men's and women's tournaments alternate sites each year — in 2018-19.
Shelton didn't drop a set in six matches against top-75 opponents. After a bye in the first round, he defeated No. 74 Jenson Brooksby, 6-3, 7-5, in the round of 64 and No. 34 Zizou Bergs, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 32. No. 27 Joao Fonesca fell, 6-3, 7-6(3), sending Shelton to the quarterfinals, where he beat No. 17 Jakub Mensik, 6-3, 6-1.
The semifinal between Shelton and Learner Tien, served as a revenge match of sorts. The last time the two faced off was at Indian Wells, a Masters 1000 tournament, and Tien upset Shelton. This time, the former Gator emerged victorious in dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-3.
Shelton had struggled in Masters 1000s all year, coming into the Canadian Open with a 1-4 record, including four straight losses. Despite winning an ATP 500 tournament (Dallas) and an ATP 250 tournament (Munich), Shelton had seen several early exits since falling to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open — in January. Most notably, he was knocked out in the round of 64 at Roland Garros and suffered a first-round loss at Wimbledon.
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He became the seventh man in the Open era to go back-to-back in the event. Rafael Nadal was the last to win in both Toronto and Montreal — the men's and women's tournaments alternate sites each year — in 2018-19.
Shelton didn't drop a set in six matches against top-75 opponents. After a bye in the first round, he defeated No. 74 Jenson Brooksby, 6-3, 7-5, in the round of 64 and No. 34 Zizou Bergs, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 32. No. 27 Joao Fonesca fell, 6-3, 7-6(3), sending Shelton to the quarterfinals, where he beat No. 17 Jakub Mensik, 6-3, 6-1.
The semifinal between Shelton and Learner Tien, served as a revenge match of sorts. The last time the two faced off was at Indian Wells, a Masters 1000 tournament, and Tien upset Shelton. This time, the former Gator emerged victorious in dominant fashion, 6-2, 6-3.
Shelton had struggled in Masters 1000s all year, coming into the Canadian Open with a 1-4 record, including four straight losses. Despite winning an ATP 500 tournament (Dallas) and an ATP 250 tournament (Munich), Shelton had seen several early exits since falling to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open — in January. Most notably, he was knocked out in the round of 64 at Roland Garros and suffered a first-round loss at Wimbledon.
#tournament
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